Featuring a front-line cast (Rysanek, Frick, Suthaus, Hotter, Nilsson, etc...) that sends Wagner aficionados into states of reverie at the prospect of listening once again to the authoritative, superlative singing casts one could assemble in the 1950's, this amazing performance of the second opera in the "Nibelungen" tetralogy also proves that conductor Herbert von Karajan live was, like the singers, in a class of his own in the 1950's as well. His few surviving Wagner recordings from this period, like this La Scala 1958 Die Wälkure, are a must for every Wagner connoisseur.

An excellent find for fans of ethereal music, while classical listeners will find this disc exceptionally refreshing.

Cristal is an excellent and original recording. This is a disc that is fresh and exciting. Its brilliance comes through from the first piece right through to the last. Cristal, subtitled "Glass Music Through the Ages," is a unique recording that features Linda Ronstadt with glass virtuoso Dennis James. This recording showcases a variety of different moods, but the glass harmonica and the crystal baschet have lush and serenely sweet sounds that bring the pieces to life while also letting them settle in the background. Cristal features a variety of performers, including the Emerson String Quartet and Ruth Ann Swenson. The recording also features original glass music by Mozart, Beethoven, C.P.E. Bach, and Purcell. For fans of ethereal music, particularly space and new age music, this is an excellent find. Fans of classical and more mainstream music will also find this recording to be exceptionally refreshing. Overall, this is a fantastic work and one that belongs in any music lover's collection.

-- Matt Borghi, AllMusic.com

In addition to many non-operatic compositions, he composed in all about a dozen operas, and didn’t lack for success in his lifetime, but today it is Francesca di Rimini almost alone for which Riccardo Zandonai (1883-1944) is best remembered internationally. This June, 1959 La Scala performance of a work with much to recommend in it has been considered by some in the critical establishment as the best Francesca on record. Conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni, the cast is headlined by the dynamic, moving and volatile Magda Olivero – still with us at 104 years old! - in the title role.

Is this March 1958, Lisbon La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi the best on record? Having in your cast, at that time, the role of Alfredo Germont sung by the great and classy tenor Alfredo Kraus surely enhances a recording's prospects toward that nomination. With Maria Callas as Violetta and Mario Sereni as Giorgio Germont, and also including the complete Radio Announcement which is missing on all other releases of this performance, and in excellent sound due to direct master tape transfers, it surely ranks high.